Phonograph needle



H. LEGGE.

PHONOGRAPH NEEDLE. APPLICATION FLEDI AUG. 24. 1920.

Patented May 16, 1922,

vii/5144 4 9/1/16 7/4 a? [2e 0e 22 for Han/w HOWARD LEGGE, OF LOS .ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

PHONOGRAPH NEEDLE.

, To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HOWARD zen of the United States, residing at Hollywood, Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Phonograph Needles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in phonograph needles, and has for an object the provision of a combination phonogra h needle which will reduce the tintinnabu ations incident to playing a steel or alloyed steel needle upon a phonograph record. Another ob-ject is the provision of an improved; combination phonograph needle which will reduce the scratching sound incident to the playing of a phonograph record with a needle- Another object is the provision of an improved combination phonograph needle which will give a more mellow tone than heretofore ossible. Another object is the provision o I an improved.- co-mbination pho-v nograph-needle which will play either loudly or softly at the will of the operator.

In practicing the invention, I provide a member formed of metal which is tubular in cross section and provided with an enlarged head for a portion adjacent the inner end thereof. Aro-und'the said enlarged head I provide a non-metallic member. formed pref- I erably of wood. The tubular member is promoved from the bore vided with-a bore of varying diameter; that is to say, aportion of the bore adjacent the head portion of the tubular member is larger than the portion near the opposite end thereof. The end of the head portion of the tubular member, as well as the non-metallic member surrounding the same is of conical formation. Confined within the bore is a dou- One of the points of said needle is more blunt and thicker than the opposite point. The needle is closely surrounded by. the bore but not so tightly that the needle can not be readily reand the opposite end allowed to project from said bore. In addition, the needle is made of some semi-permanent metal, such as tungsten steel, so that the needle may play upon the same record a number of times w thout damage to the record. The decreasing diameter at one portion within the tubular member provides a shoulder for the upper portion of the needle and prevents the needle frompassing entirely through the bore. When the outer surface of Laser, a citidesignated by Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 16,1922.

Application filed August 24, 1920. Serial No. 405,681.

the tubular member is clamped by a "set screw m-the-phonograph stylus holder the needle within the bore is of course pinched and therefore no looseness or vibration of the needle is allowed.

The invention has for further objects the provislon of an improved combination phonograph needle which will be superior in point of relative simplicity and inexpensiveness, taken in conjunction with utility, durability and general efliciency and serviceability.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel and useful provision, formation, construction, comblnation, association and interrelation of parts, members and features, all as disclosed 1n the accompanying drawing, described in the following statement and finally pointed out in claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the improved combination of a phonograp needle in cooperation with the needle bar or stylus holder of a re-producer, with the improved combinatipn needle playing upon the surface of a record;

Figure 2 is a side view of the improved combination phonograph needle;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the showing in Figure 2, and taken on the line m --w Figure .2, and loo-king in the direction of the appended arrows;

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view taken on the line x -r Figure 2, and looking in the. direction of the appended arrows; and,

Figure 5 is a planview of the needle.

Corresponding parts in all the figures are the same reference characters.

Referring with particularity to the drawing, A designates an improved combination needle, B a sound box, C a tone arm joined to the sound box B, D a stylus holder and E a record, all of which elements are used in p-racticingpne embodiment of the invention.

The improved combination needle A includes a tubular member 1 provided with an enlarged head 2. The tubular member 1 has two different bores within the same, as

3 and 4, and the part as 5 where the bore 4 ranged n the outer surface of said enlarged head 2 is a member 7 which likewise a certain period of vibration.

has a tapered or conical formation 8 corresponding to the ta ered or conical formation 6 of the heads 2. t will be observed that the member 7 has a cylindrical outer surface as 9 and is mounted upon the head 2, which also presents a cylindrical outer surface. The bore 4, as will be observed, extends through the apex as at 10 of the cone member formed by the surfaces 6 and 8 of the enlarged head 2 and the member 7. A needle member 11 is provided with points 12 and 13 at its opposite ends. The int 12 is made blunt and thicker than the point 13 and not quite so long as the point 13. It is intended that the needle 11 should be inserted within the bore 4 of the tubular member 1 and an endas 14 of the needle 11 will contact with the portion 5 and act to restrain any further movement of the needle 11 within the bore. The needle may have its ends reversed so that the longer point 13 will project through the bore if it is desired. The needle 11 is preferably made of some metal such as tungsten steel so that the needle may be senupermanent in nature. Of course I do not wish to be limited to the particular metal used in the needle, as other materials such as bone, fibre, cactus and similar substances, might readily be used.

Referring to Figure 1, when a set screw as 15 threaded upon the stylus holder D is passed-within the stylus holder it will clamp a portion as 16 of the outer tubular surface I of the tubular member 1 and will compress I the sides thereof closely pinching the upper surface 17 of the needle 11. This will of course hold the needle rigidly in position within the bore 4, so that the needle will not vibrate when the point of same, either 12 or 13 is playing within the groove of the record E.

The inventor is aware that experiments have been conducted to reduce tinkling sounds commonly known as tintinnabulations, from records. The ordinary lateral cut record, as Well as certain of the hilland dale cut records utilize a sound box B provided withamica diaphra 18. The stylus bar D is likewise formed of metal; the rim of the sound box is formed of metal; the pivot points on the sound box of the stylus are formed of metal, and last of all the needle is formed of metal. It is commonly known that mica has a ringing, bell-like sound when the same is dropped, and has The stylusbar D likewise has a period of vibration, and the needle itself has a certain definite period of vibration. If thevrecord is played with a steel needle the result is, certain sounds from the record, the needle trying to harmonize gives off a particular sound, the

stylus bar gives ofi another, and last of all the mica diaphragm gives off anadditional sound. Instead, therefore, of having the original music from the record, we add to the sound emitted from the record and produce four or five different frequencies and tones in addition. Many phonographs on the market today that overcome the tintinnabulations incident to playing'of a record, provide a wooden horn, as it is known that wood has after-resonance. By after-resonance is meant this, the Wood does not let go of any sound that it is intended to amplify. The wooden amplifier or horn vibrates and produces what is known as a woody sound. As the tone is emitted from the record and reproduced through the reproducer it passes through the amplifier; certain of the vibrations are absorbed by the wooden horn and before the Wood has stopped vibrating other vibrations have passed through, with the result that there is a jumbling, and this jumbling of sounds and after-resonance tendsto overcome any scratching produced upon the record, as well as reducing, as has-been stated, tintinnabulations. It is a known fact that a metallic horn made of some metal such as Russia metal produces no tone of its own, but immediately letsloose of the tone waves. However, a metallic horn is not a success with a record which uses a steel needle and a metallic sound-box, as it does not overcome the grating and tinkling sounds incident to playing a record. It has been demonstrated by experiment on the inventors part, that the best way to overcome tintinnabulations, scratching sound, and a lack of mellowness, is at the source of sound production; that is to say, producing a needle which will accomplish the results desired to begin with instead of allowing the tone to be mufiled or otherwise distorted by an amplifier such as a horn. With this idea in mind, the inventor has provided an improved phonograph needle which provides a metal housing forthe needle and which metal housing is provided with a non-metallic member shown-at 7 in the drawing. This non-metallic member 7 is preferably made of wood, and the wood may be soft or hard. However, it has been found that'cedar wood gives very good results. The additional feature of having the needle play either loudly or softly makes this combined phonograph needle immediately useful for a variety of purposes, and allows the operator to obtain a modulated tone without the additional expense of providing extra needles termed either loud or soft.

It is obvious that many changes and variations and modifications may be made in de- 1. Improvements in phonograph needles,

including, in combination, an inelastic member provided with a head and shank, there being a bore in said member, of a non-metalhc member surrounding the head of said first named member, and. a needle confined within said bore.

2. Improvements in phonograph needles, including, in combination, an inelastic member provided with an enlarged portion near one end thereof, of a on-metallic; member surrounding said enlarged portion, said first named member being provided with a bore and a needle confined within ber.

4. Improvements in phonograph needles,

including, in combination, a cylindrical member provided with a bore and with an enlarged portion adjacent one end of said member; a cylindrical wooden member concentrically mounted upon said enlarged por tion;' an end of said cylindrical wooden member and said enlarged portion being of conical formation there being a needle confined within said bore with its point projecting through the apex of said conical formation.

5.--A device of the character disclosed, in combination with a stylus holder of a soundreproducer, of a metallic member for conber being provided with a bore. adapted toconfine a needle; and a non-metallic memger surrounding a portion of said first mem 6. As a new article of manufacture, a phonograph needle, including, in combination, a member provided with an enlarged head, a non-metallic member surrounding the head, said first memberbeing formed- ,With a bore and a needle confined withinv said bore; said non-metallic member being .out of the direct path of the vibration transmission from needle to said first member. In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification'in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HOWARD LEGGE.

Witnesses:

J. CALVIN BROWN, MILDRED LEACH.

nection with said stylus holder; said mem-' 

